THE coronavirus pandemic should push members of the United Nations to "get their act together" and start working on a common strategy to fight off the threat of the deadly virus, former US UN Ambassador Samantha Power said.

We will use your email address only for sending you newsletters. Please see our Privacy Notice for details of your data protection rights.

The coronavirus outbreak has so far infected more than 1.4 million people across the world, with the number of deaths exponentially rising in countries like Spain and the United States. World leaders have so far mostly acted unilaterally in their response to the outbreak but former US UN Ambassador Samantha Power urged the United Nations to "get their act together" and work on a common response to the deadly virus. Ms Power told the Today programme: "There are leaders in the world who probably need to be more outspoken, who need to be hustling more.

Related articles

"For example, the Secretary-General of the United Nations has been waiting for the UN Security Council to get its act together to do the kind of things we did during the Ebola crisis.

"That’s not going to happen so the Secretary-General now needs to use the authority that he has under the UN Charter and convene the Security Council and put the issue on the agenda.

"That doesn’t mean that when the countries come into the Security Council that the US becomes any less petty and cease to try to refer to this as the Wuhan virus, and all the things we’ve seen at work here in the last few weeks may usually play themselves out in an international institution."

Ms Power suggested the US could take a leading role in international efforts but warned the "dog eat dog mentality" of US President Donald Trump could hinder efforts to work together.

Samantha Power insisted the UN must "get their act together" (Image: CBS)

Samantha Powell said the US could play a leading role in the fight against coronavirus (Image: CBS)

Share your lockdown experience with Express.co.uk

We would love to hear how you are coping with the coronavirus lockdown. Please send a video update detailing your experiences to webvideo@express.co.uk and we will feature the best ones. Clips should be between .30secs - 1min30 long and can be filmed using a phone, tablet or desktop.

LEGAL

By sending a clip you consent to us using your video in perpetuity on Express.co.uk and our social platforms.

She continued: "We don’t just have a scrum with the French and others in terms of getting precious protective equipment, we have a scrum among the different states that comprise the United States of America.

"This collective action problem is something we have even in the US.

"So Boris Johnson and somebody like him will have an incredible role to play.

"There are countries that are coming out of the virus that could look a further down the field, what resources they can provide that can be pooled again in order to tend to the commons."

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres urged the international community to come together with "every ounce of energy" to fight the coronavirus pandemic.

Speaking at a virtual press conference earlier this month, Mr Guterres said: "We know the pandemic is having profound social, economic and political consequences, including relating to international peace and security."

The UN Secretary-General also demanded a ceasefire in all conflicts around the world in order to focus on efforts to beat the outbreak.

But the UN Security Council is now expected to meet on Thursday despite the pandemic now raging for over two months.

Related articles

The coronavirus pandemic has already killed over 80,000 people worldwide (Image: EXPRESS.CO.UK)

Trending

One diplomat told AFT the meeting was "confirmed for Thursday" and would be held behind close doors at 8PM BST.

The organisation has been working virtually for the past month and the General Assembly last week passed a resolution on "international cooperation" and "multilateralism" in the face of the ongoing pandemic.

Diplomats claimed earlier last week the main opposition to a meeting of the Security Council has been coming from Russia and China.

Both countries have been suggesting the Council should only put the coronavirus outbreak on their common agenda in regards to countries at war, officials within the UN have claimed.